


The Little Things

by LittleKazoo



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fairy AU, Fairy Keith, M/M, Size Kink, human shiro, to the extreme
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-11-14 02:21:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18043625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleKazoo/pseuds/LittleKazoo
Summary: As a Paladin of Altea, Keith already had his hands full with responsibilities. He certainly didn’t expect to fall in love, and to make things more complicated, it happened to be with a human.





	The Little Things

Keith never did understand love—at least, in the romantic sense.

He prided himself in being a paladin of the crown, his royal majesty King Alfor, his beloved Queen Melenor, and their daughter Princess Allura. It was his duty to protect Altea and the family he swore his life to.

But Keith never guessed he’d be delivering love letters from the princess to her betrothed in the Galra Empire, Prince Lotor, since their engagement in the summer.

Keith didn’t have time for this sort of thing. Soon his village would be hosting the autumn parade with the arrival of the new season. He needed to assist with the preparations, not keep Allura’s fiancé updated on whether she still loved him or not.

But here he was, flying past the gates of the kingdom on his father’s blue jay, letter tucked safely in his satchel. 

It was the second week of September, with autumn just around the corner and the world outside his realm busier than ever. It was his job to keep his existence a secret from the public eye, to avoid any chaos and potential harm to the kingdom obscured by nature.

Humans in particular were to be avoided at all costs.

“Clumsy and violent,” King Alfor had said.

But surely they weren’t all bad, right?

He supposed that made him brave, crossing through the human realm unprotected, a daring feat that no other fairy would even  _ think _ to attempt. For a long time the two worlds coexisted, with one party never even knowing the other was there. Keith wondered if that would ever change.

By afternoon, only a couple hours later, he arrived safely near a window of Zarkon’s castle, leading to Prince Lotor’s resting chambers. Hopefully, he was there to let him in. The emperor didn’t like unexpected company.

He left the blue jay to sit perched on the tree branch they stood on before flying to the window and peeking inside. He tapped on the glass a few times, occasionally glancing over his shoulder to make sure he was alone. He heard a faint  _ click _ from inside, and was soon greeted by the Prince of the Galra himself, dressed for a special occasion, it seemed.

“If it isn’t the Paladin of Autumn,” he greeted him, teasing. “Certainly summer hasn’t left us yet, right?”

Keith rolled his eyes.  _ Typical _ . “Look, I don’t have time for jokes,” he told him. “Just let me inside. I have a letter for you from the princess.”

So Lotor stepped aside to let him in, eyeing his bird with caution before closing the window. The prince towered over Keith, standing only an inch-and-a-half taller.

Keith opened his bag to retrieve the letter, closed by a pink wax seal. He handed it to Lotor and said, “I don’t suppose you have any letters for me to deliver, do you?”

“Not for now,” Lotor assured him. “You need not worry.” He broke the seal binding the letter and unfurled it to read its contents. Keith made no attempt to see what Allura had written.

“What has your father been up to?” Keith asked in the meantime.

“Busy, as usual,” Lotor answered with a sigh. “I haven’t seen him in a few days, but surely he’ll be attending the Autumn Festival in Altea.”

“And you’ll be joining him?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, if it meant reuniting with my beloved. Which reminds me…” He rolled up the letter and left it on his dresser for now. “How’s that boy she’s been seeing? The Paladin of Winter, yes?”

“Lance? He’s fine, I guess. I never expected you would approve of polygamy, although maybe I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Lotor chuckled at the comment. “You humor me,” he said. “He’s a bit loud for my liking, but anyone who has Allura’s approval has mine, as well.”

“Wish I could say the same,” Keith muttered. “But regardless of what Allura thinks, King Alfor won’t be pleased to hear about Lance’s involvement in your relationship.” He closed his satchel. “Anyway, I should get going. If Zarkon finds out I’m here, he’ll think King Alfor sent a spy and end the alliance.”

“My father wouldn’t be so quick to end an alliance with King Alfor,” Lotor replied. “Allura’s father is a valuable ally. But I’ll let you go for now. Have a safe trip, little paladin.”

Keith ignored the nickname and climbed out of the window, closing it behind him. His father’s bird was still waiting for him, ever so patient and calm. “Come on, Cosmo,” he said. “We’re going home.”

Cosmo ruffled his feathers and allowed Keith to mount him. Seated on his saddle, reigns held firmly in his hands, he motioned for the bird to take off. 

Keith was an excellent flier, or so he’d been told. He could maneuver his way between branches and other tight spaces at remarkable speed with no trouble. The Galra Empire was protected by thick winding branches in a large tree, a challenge to pass through for most. 

Within minutes, he left the realm of the empire, and entered the human world once more.

A trail of fairy dust followed as they soared through the wind, shimmering like gold under the afternoon sun. They crossed over a river, and Keith looked down upon the boats below them. Curiosity getting the best of him, he guided his bird downward to get a closer look at the world forbidden to his kind.

Human technology was much more advanced than that of his home. Keith admired the ferry boat with passengers on board, giants passing by across the river. From his location he could see the breathtaking skyline, impressive skyscrapers and buildings made from steel, glass, and brick, all of them beautiful to little Keith.

He flew high above them and soared lower to get a better view of the city. 

Distracted by the scenery, he would never have noticed the tall apartment building they were approaching at high speed. Right before Cosmo could steer himself, he collided with a window on the sixth floor, and Keith slammed against it face first.

The blue jay fell onto the windowsill. Fortunately, Keith was okay, brushing himself off and registering what just happened. But Cosmo wasn’t looking too good.

“Damn it…” 

Keith gently took Cosmo’s left wing in his dainty hands. Broken… 

“I’m sorry, buddy,” he apologized. “I’ll get you patched up in no—”

He didn’t get to finish that thought, however, as he noticed from the corner of his eye the curtains behind the window being drawn open. Keith quickly darted to a nearby branch, out of sight of the human who opened the window to see Cosmo lying weakly before him.

He was a giant among men, taller than most humans Keith had observed during his years as a paladin. He had hair like starlight and an ugly scar across his nose. But Keith’s eyes were focused on his big hands. The man’s right arm was made completely from metal, though it still functioned like its counterpart.

He fascinated Keith. Here was this strong, battered man holding Cosmo in his hands with such gentleness. He wasn’t aggressive or careless with how he handled the bird, and Keith watched as he carried his companion into his home.

He slid down the branch to stand on the windowsill and take a peek inside. 

Cosmo appeared unafraid even as the human laid him on the table in his kitchen. The man disappeared for a moment before returning with a roll of bandage tape. Keith admired how his hands moved, gracefully removing the saddle from his back, though Keith saw how its presence confused the man.

He wrapped the bandage around Cosmo’s body, holding the broken wing against it and allowing the other to move freely. Cosmo’s little cries of discomfort broke Keith’s heart.

But Keith also knew Cosmo couldn’t leave immediately. It would take time for the injury to heal, maybe two weeks or so.

“Dad’s going to kill me…,” he muttered. How was he going to explain to his father that he had to leave their bird, his father’s only means of transportation, at some human’s home?

Not to mention, if he stayed to monitor Cosmo’s wellbeing, he might miss the festival, the one he was expected to attend as the Paladin of Autumn.

He couldn’t lie to him. Maybe Heath would be understanding if he told him the truth. No doubt he would be upset that Keith left his bird with a human man, but if Keith could just explain that he was in good hands, he wouldn’t be in too much trouble...hopefully.

Unless Keith asked this man to bring Cosmo back to his village.

But there was also the problem of scaring the poor guy and thus stressing out his bird.

Fuck, what a shitty situation this was…

When the man left the room—for how long, Keith didn’t know—he hurried inside and cradled Cosmo’s face in his hands. “I’ll come back for you, okay?” he said softly, stroking his neck. “Just be on your best behavior. He won’t hurt you.”

And with that he was gone, making the long trip back home on his own.

________________________________________

 

By sunset Heath and Krolia were still making arrangements for the upcoming festival, with Krolia delegating tasks to the servants and overseeing the whole project, while Heath tried helping to the best of his abilities, not wanting to be useless.

Neither of them expected their son to come home in a panic.

Keith descended to the ground and rushed to his parents, anxious to tell them what happened during the flight back to the village. “Mom! Dad!”

Heath and Krolia stopped what they were doing and hurried over to greet him and see what was wrong. “Keith, what’s the matter?” Krolia asked. “Is everything okay?”

“He’s trembling like a leaf,” Heath noted, holding his son steady by his shoulders. “What’s going on? Where’s Cosmo?”

Keith pursed his lips. “Cosmo and I—we got into an accident,” he explained. “I-I don’t know what happened, but we crashed into a window on the way back, I—he broke his wing, Dad.”

Heath’s eyes widened in shock, and then his expression shifted to worried. “So where is he then?” he asked.

“...He’s with a human...but—”

“Keith, you know better than to get close to human civilization,” Krolia scolded him. “You could’ve gotten yourself killed! You’ve put your father’s bird in danger—”

“No! Mom, Cosmo is okay, I saw him! He’s in good hands, just… Please, I’ll check up on him every day—”

“You will do no such thing,” Heath stated firmly.

“But he’s your bird!”

“And you’re my son! We’re not going to discuss this further. Now you stay away from that human, Keith. You’re not in trouble now, but if I find out you disobeyed me, then you will be.”

Keith was angry but defeated. He went off to be alone, flying at full speed to get away from them.

Krolia, meanwhile, was a little more than frustrated with this mess. “Dear, we can’t just give up on Cosmo,” she said. “Birds are incredibly difficult to train, and I’m not letting you ride on a mouse during the parade…”

Heath sighed. “It doesn’t matter to me if I have a rock to carry my weight,” he said. “He’s our only son. I don’t want him to make the same mistakes I had. I still feel the pain of my actions, even after all these years.”

Krolia frowned at this. “Come on,” she said, trying to get his mind off his worries, “we still have work to do before the sun is gone. Keith will come back tonight, and everything will be fine as always.”

It seemed their argument with Keith had drawn the attention of the servants around them, and the couple only just now realized they were there the whole time. “Well, don’t just stand there,” Heath said. “We’ve got a job to finish, y’all.” 

He leaned down to kiss Krolia’s cheek before leaving her.

Krolia looked in the direction her son had gone. He couldn’t have traveled far. She knew Keith had only good intentions, but she was a mother. Of course she would worry.

And she should, it seemed, because Keith wasn’t heading home just yet.

Keith had plans to go back, to properly thank that kind human for protecting Cosmo. It was the least he could do, since Keith was the one who recklessly drove him into the window, and he still felt ashamed for that.

But that would have to wait, as suddenly a familiar face appeared and nearly startled Keith.

“And where do you think  _ you’re _ going?” Romelle asked, emerging from the bushes—Keith really wished she’d stop doing that when she knew it always scared the shit out of him.

“I-I’m just… wandering… somewhere…”

“M-hm…” Romelle raised a brow at this, suspicious. “You were going pretty fast for someone who’s just  _ wandering _ , like you knew where you were going.”

Keith sighed. There really was no getting past her. “Fine, I wasn’t wandering. But you have to swear not to tell my parents or  _ anyone _ where I’m going.”

“I don’t have to do anything—”

“You still owe me after I lied for you when you last got into trouble with the king. It’s just this one time, and then we’ll be even, and I’ll never ask you to do any other favors for me. Please?”

Romelle groaned. “Fine,  _ fine!  _ I won’t tell a soul about it. Now will you answer my question?”

Keith looked around, just to make sure they were alone after being spooked by her unexpected presence. Once he confirmed for himself that they were, he looked back to her and confessed, “I’m going back to the outside. Cosmo is with a human, and I have to go see him to make sure he’s all right.”

“ _ A human?  _ Keith, you can’t—”

“Romelle, you promised—”

“Do you realize how much danger you’re putting yourself in? Especially when it’s almost dark? What am I supposed to tell your parents? What am I supposed to tell King Alfor if you suddenly disappear from the face of the earth?”

Keith pursed his lips. “I’ll come back,” he assured her.

“You don’t know that.”

“I  _ do _ . And I promise I will. When have I ever broken a promise to you?”

Romelle suddenly fell silent. Keith tried searching her face for an answer and saw how uneasy she still was. 

“Romelle…?”

“Take me with you at the very least,” she finally said.

Keith was a bit surprised by her response. “You know I can’t let you get involved. What if you get hurt?”

“I won’t! But you’re pretty much the only family I’ve got, and I want to make sure you stay that way.”

“I don’t need you to—”

“That wasn’t a request, Keith. I’m going with you, whether you like it or not.”

Damn, she was stubborn, but that was probably why they got along so easily. Keith sighed, defeated. “All right. You can come with me. But don’t do or say anything that will make my current situation worse.”

________________________________________

 

It was already night when Keith finally found his way back to that apartment building, peering into the windows for something familiar. It only then occurred to him, when they did reach their destination, that they’d need to find a way inside without causing a commotion. One human seeing him was better than the whole neighborhood noticing his presence.

“There’s Cosmo,” Keith said, pointing to his bird, who was sitting on the kitchen table with the man from earlier. 

“Keith, are you sure this is a good idea?” Romelle seemed to be getting uneasy again.

“I’m sure.”

Keith pulled Romelle aside so they couldn’t be seen through the glass, but he reached over and knocked a few times—tapped, really. That was probably how it sounded to human ears. “When that window opens, we’ll sneak inside,” he told her.

“And if we get caught?”

“You got any better ideas?”

Romelle went quiet, and Keith sighed.

“Just follow my lead,” he said.

Soon the window opened, and the man Keith saw poked his head outside to see who was there. Before Romelle could protest, Keith quickly pulled her into the apartment, right before the man looked in their direction. He led her toward the counter in the kitchen, and they hid behind a bowl of fruit.

“You’re out of your mind!” Romelle hissed, but Keith was quick to cover her mouth before he looked over a banana to see if the man was returning. 

He watched him go back to the table, and Keith sighed with relief. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he said, “As soon as he goes to bed, I’m gonna check on Cosmo.”

“Keith, I’m not sure this is a good idea,” she replied, looking a little distressed. “That man looked dangerous—and he even closed the window.”

“We’ll find another way out. But I promise you, he’s not as scary as he looks.”

“You don’t know that. He doesn’t even know you exist. You can’t speak on behalf of a man that you’ve never met.”

“Neither can you.”

Keith looked over again to see Cosmo, noticing how the bird was watching whatever the man was doing on his weird device—phones, that was what humans called them, right?

Occasionally the man would gently stroke Cosmo’s head with his thumb, and it left a fuzzy feeling in Keith’s chest. Cosmo would lean into his touch, and Keith was certain then that he was in good hands. Cosmo always had a hard time getting along with new people, so it surprised Keith to see him warm up to this man, this human.

Romelle must have noticed it, too, as she watched alongside him.

“Let’s take a look around while we wait,” he decided.

Romelle lost her train of thought. “We already saw Cosmo. We might as well just go home now. Even if we do get out of here, though, your parents are going to be pissed.”

Keith pursed his lips. “I’m almost 21,” he said. “I’m an adult and a Paladin of Altea. I can make my own choices and accept whatever consequences come afterwards. Let them be pissed.”

“ _ Keith, _ what’s the point in staying longer? You saw Cosmo. Now let’s go home.”

She studied him for a moment, and then Keith slumped his shoulders. “I came here to thank him,” he confessed. “I at least owe him that much for taking care of Cosmo.”

“You don’t owe him anything! We’re leaving  _ now. _ ”

But Keith didn’t listen as he flew over to one of the table’s legs. He stood on the floor and looked up at the man, who was still distracted. Keith couldn’t help but feel a little nervous, trembling a bit as he tried to find the right words to say.

Romelle was by his side once more, grabbing Keith’s hand. “Keith, I’m not going to repeat myself—”

Keith quickly shushed her, and she scoffed, clearly offended. 

“Don’t you  _ shush _ me.”

“Romelle, I need you to trust me. If anything happens, I’m capable of protecting myself.”

“Your sword would be like a sewing needle to that man. You wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Keith said nothing more and pulled his hand away before flying up to the tabletop. Romelle gave a frustrated groan and followed.

Cosmo noticed Keith’s presence first, flapping his only functioning wing in excitement when he saw him. This, of course, drew the man’s attention, and then when he saw two fairies standing on his table, he pushed his chair back with a startled shout.

“Wait, don’t panic!” Keith said, trying to calm him down, while Romelle tried to hide behind Keith after screaming herself.

The man blinked a few times, as if in disbelief—of course he wouldn’t believe it. It’s not every day you find a supposedly mythical creature from fairy tales in your home.

“You…” He seemed to be at a loss for words.

Keith looked over to Cosmo and reached out to stroke his neck. “I just… I wanted to say thank you for taking care of my bird. I’m sorry if I caused any inconvenience for crashing into your window earlier.”

The man composed himself then, and Romelle seemed to calm down when she saw that he did. “I… It was no trouble at all,” he insisted. “I’m just… stunned. I didn’t think that—I didn’t know fairies existed, and well, here you are.”

“Here we are,” Keith repeated, almost smiling. This went better than he had anticipated. “Thing is, we can’t stay too long, and my bird… I need him to come home. Cosmo belongs to my father, and if both of them can’t fly… There’s a big festival happening where I live in less than two weeks, and Cosmo has to be there.”

The man seemed to understand how desperate the situation was. “I could carry him to your home for you,” he offered.

“That’d be great!” Keith said, ecstatic at how well this was going, and then Romelle nudged his arm hard, reminding him about something else. He frowned. “There’s just… one problem with that.”

The man raised a brow at that. “What’s wrong?”

Keith looked down at his boots. “Well, I’m not supposed to be here. In fact, I shouldn’t be talking to you either. There’s a strict law where I’m from regarding interactions between fairies and humans, and if everyone saw you coming, things wouldn’t go well…”

“I see…”

Romelle and Keith exchanged worried glances, until the man spoke up again.

“Maybe if you brought me close enough where I won’t look suspicious, I could leave him there and you could take him the rest of the way. Would that work?”

“That could work,” Romelle replied as she thought it over. “It might be suspicious that we suddenly brought the bird back, but… I’m sure we can put together a reasonable excuse.”

“We could get going now, then,” he offered. “I’ll hold onto Cosmo for you. I just…” He leaned in to observe Keith and Romelle up close, with awe and curiosity in his eyes. 

Keith couldn’t help but admire him, too.

“This is all so crazy,” the man said. “I never would’ve guessed I’d be meeting a real fairy, let alone two of you.”

“You’re the first human we’ve ever met, too,” Keith said. “I… my name is Keith. This is my friend, Romelle.”

The man smiled then. “My friends call me Shiro,” he told them. “But if you’d like, you can call me Takashi.”

“Takashi…” Keith fell out of his daze when Romelle snapped her fingers to get his attention. “Right, anyway, let’s get going, then.”

________________________________________

 

The trip back was shorter with Shiro as their means of transportation, and Keith being the one to guide him to their destination from where he sat on his shoulder, with Romelle sitting on the other. Shiro found himself at a park, which led him to feel a bit uneasy considering how dark it was.

“How will I know where it is?” he asked, trying to keep his voice low.

“That’s the thing,” Romelle replied. “Only Keith and I can see Altea. It’s hidden from outsiders with magic obtained from an energy that we call quintessence, but it’s built in a clever spot so that no humans or large animals would trample it.”

As they traveled farther into the shadows, Shiro noticed from the corner of his eye how Keith’s markings began to glow red, and when he checked on Romelle, her’s glowed a bright blue.

“You can stop here,” Keith eventually said.

Shiro complied and got down on one knee before carefully placing Cosmo on the ground. The blue jay was wearing his saddle once more, with a string tied around his neck so that Keith could lead him home. The two fairies joined him on the grass, and Keith held onto the thread.

“Thank you so much for everything,” Keith said. “Will you be all right getting home by yourself?”

“I’ll manage,” Shiro assured him with a smile. “Will I get to see you around again?”

Romelle shot Keith a warning stare, but Keith didn’t pay it any attention. “I’ll try to visit as soon as I can.”

“I’ll see you later, then.”

Keith waved goodbye to Shiro as the man walked away, using the flashlight on his phone to help him find his way home. His hand slowed and eventually fell to his side as he watched him go, almost sad that they couldn’t spend more time together.

And then he felt Romelle nudge his shoulder. “Why would you say that?” she hissed. “Keith, you know better than to make promises you can’t keep!”

“I know, I’m sorry. I just… I don’t know why I said any of that. Let’s just go home.”

The walk back took quite a while, and once they reached the gates, they were met by none other than Lance, Hunk, and Pidge. The three appeared surprised to see him, but Keith was also a bit startled by their presence.

“What are you three doing here?” he asked.

“We were just about to ask  _ you _ the same thing,” Pidge said, and then she noticed Cosmo’s bandaged wing from where she sat on her robin, Gunther. “What happened to Cosmo?”

“It’s a long story,” Keith answered dismissively. “Were you looking for us?”

“King Alfor requested our presence,” Hunk explained, seated on his own bird, a mockingbird he affectionately named Herschel. “We went to go look for you, but even your parents had no clue where you went, and they didn’t look too thrilled about that.”

Keith swallowed thickly. Right, his parents were definitely going to be angry with him when he got back to his village.

Romelle took the thread from him then. “I’ll bring Cosmo home,” she assured him. “Your mother and father won’t be as upset if I talk to them first.”

Keith sighed with relief. “Thank you.” He stroked Cosmo’s neck before letting Romelle take him past the gate. 

Lance rolled his eyes. “Come on. We’ve kept His Royal Highness waiting long enough. You can ride Red with me until Cosmo recovers.”

He extended his hand to Keith from where he sat on his cardinal, and Keith grabbed it and let Lance pull him up. He sat behind him on his saddle and held on tight to his waist as the three birds took flight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> keith’s fairy design:  
> https://twitter.com/69kazoos/status/1046404713074315266?s=21
> 
> follow my twitter for more art for this fic!


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